Computers are increasingly used with a cursor indicator which as popularly become known as a mouse. A mouse is typically a device designed to be grasped by the human palm and moved about on a surface. Movement on the surface will cause a computer screen cursor to move about in a like manner.
Some mouse instruments have a laser interaction with a specialized board, while others have an electromagnetic relationship with a tablet. These types are in the minority, and the vast majority mouse instruments move using a downwardly oriented track ball against a surface which has an acceptably high coefficient of friction between the tracking ball and the surface on which it is moved.
A mouse instrument can typically be used on any surface, but with varying degrees of effectiveness. Usually if the surface is not smooth, or does not exhibit high friction with respect to the tracking ball, the manipulative result on the cursor will be disjunctive and much correction will need be made by the computer user to place the cursor on exactly the right point. This can be exasperating, and adversely affect work efficiency.
The use of a mouse pad will eliminate the lack of friction, but most mouse pads are un-attractive and not as well matched to manual manipulation over long periods of time. Most mouse pads are unattractive and usually bear the trademark of an unknown mouse pad or computer manufacturer. Most are drab and have muted patterns and do not add to the enhancement of the office environment.
In addition, with contemporary mouse pads, the arm is rubbed on the desk or table surface upon which the mouse pad lies. The clothing of the wearer consequently gets a good workout as the mouse is manipulated. When the mouse is not in use, it may rest on the exposed pad or be placed in a holster. The mouse pad however simply lies next to the computer collecting dust.
Contemporary mouse pads have a tendency to cause the user to lose place when moving the cursor about. When a computer stops to perform computations and temporarily shuts off the mouse input, movement of the mouse will fail to move the cursor. When this happens, the user will typically move the mouse anyway, and usually to the edge of the mouse pad. When the user re-starts movement it is difficult to "naturally" gauge the position on the mouse pad. As a result, the mouse is generally run off the pad before the user realizes it.
What is needed is a more ergonomically correct manner to use a mouse, which will help to lift the user's arm and clothing off of a desk, and which will enhance the overall use of the mouse. The needed mouse pad should naturally give feedback about the position of the mouse on the pad without the user having to take their eyes off the screen or look at the mouse and its position on the pad. Such natural feed back should occur in at least one of the directions, x or y of displacement of the mouse on the pad.
The needed mouse pad should also be configured to enable resistance of dust collection, and should contribute to the office decor when not in use.